Blueberries- you won't even have to throw half of the case away!

Day 8 of the 30 Days of Faves

Confession time:  I was one of those crazy people who'd wait until blueberries went on sale one day out of the year in our town.  I would buy 20+ packages, go home and wash them all.  Then I would spend the next 2 days laying them out on cookie sheets in my freezer to make sure they were frozen individually (not in clumps).  Finally I would bag them up in a bunch of freezer bags so they didn't get freezer burn over the next year.  Each time, I'd sit back and say, wow what a deal....but now I have no freezer space!  Enter Freeze-Dried Blueberries.  I love that I can have the fresh flavor of blueberries, with all of the nutrition of the ones I froze, with the convenience of having it not take up my freezer!  We use ours all of the time for breakfast foods in our household and I will be posting some of the reasons why today and tomorrow.

One of my most popular recipes that includes blueberries is the Granola with Freeze-Dried Fruit.  Its similar to the one Shelf Reliance makes, but tweeked slightly. I have even had multiple people ask, can I pay you to make this for me?  Unfortunately, no....but you can make your own for super cheap!  It works great as a breakfast cereal, sprinkled on yogurt or as a treat on ice cream.

Now we're going to connect the post from the past 3 days with this new recipe:

Classic French Toast w/ Blueberry Syrup

1 Loaf of any bread, I use the 100% Whole Wheat Bread recipe I shared

6 T eggs

4 T instant milk

1 1/2 c warm water

1/2 t cinnamon

Add egg powder, instant milk and warm water in an 8x8 dish.  Mix well with a fork.  Add cinnamon. Dip slices of bread quickly on both sides.  Cook French Toast on a preheated skillet until slightly browned on both sides.

Blueberry Syrup

3/4 c blueberries

1 c hot water

1/4 c sugar

Put blueberries and hot water in blender and allow to rehydrate for 5 minutes.  Blend on low for 30 seconds.  Empty into a saucepan and add the sugar and simmer until breakfast is ready.

Vanilla Whipped Topping  (From the Shelf Reliance Website)

• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1⁄2 c thrive powdered sugar
• 1⁄2 c thrive instant milk, prepared and chilled
• 1⁄2 c ice water
• Combine ice water and powdered milk in bowl and beat for 10 minutes. Add powdered sugar and vanilla, continue to beat until thoroughly blended. Chill.
• 
  *This works best in a stand mixer with whip beaters. If mixture begins to fall, beat again.

Not a blueberry person?  Growing up as a kid, my mom would spread a little bit of butter on ours then sprinkle powdered sugar on top.  I believe that the butter powder recipe on the can calls for equal parts powder and water, but I like to put a little extra powder in it. (Usually about double)  You can actually make it as thick as you'd like, the texture is about like margarine, but tastes just like butter but with a lot less fat.